The News We (CNN) Kept To Ourselves [must read]

The New York Times ^ | 04/11/03 | EASON JORDAN

[nutmeg]

Do NOT miss this disturbing article.

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[MamaLucci]

What kills me is CNN's smug, elitist attitude with regard
to Fox News' "blatant patriotism", while they
themselves have been BLATANTLY propagandizing
for the butcher of Baghdad!
Can you imagine in your wildest dreams CNN going along with
the American government trying to ***CENSOR*** them!!??

[Cold Heat]

LOL!

Says it all!(just about)

Someone needs to post the Cavin peein on CNN GIF.

[nutmeg]

Do NOT miss this disturbing article.

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[diamond6]

Because like this war, I value life - all life. That sometimes involves making tough decisions. For instance, the peaceniks pretend to care about the lives of Iraqi citizens, when in truth they could care less about them. The peaceniks don't have an answer about the lives of Iraqis who have faced the atrocities outlined in the article and more. War obviously involved the death of more people - American GIs, Iraqi citizens, Iraqi military, etc. However, the tradeoff is that many lives have been saved from a brutal dictator. I believe that the man who wrote this article truly wanted to make sure that the lives of CNN employees were not jeopardized. As I'm sure you are aware, it is not so far fetched to believe that Saddam or Uday, or anyone else in his brutal regime would put to death anyone that would help American media publicize these acts.

But the question shouldn't be why didn't he publicize these stories before. The question should be why they didn't focus on publicizing stories that could be told. We have thousands of Iraqis in this country who could have told their stories on CNN without jeopardizing lives. Those stories should have been told.

[nutmeg]

Do NOT miss this disturbing article.

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[chinche]

I have read this article several times. Probably as are all here, I am floored. Does the NY Times understand what they have just printed? This will be a document studied by future historians. It's an unwitting and horrifying distillation of the perversity within the minds of outwardly good people. He might as well have written, "I was just following orders."

I have to repeat: this is the post-modernist’s version of "I was just following orders."

[Howlin]

And now we know the answer to the question "When did they know?" Forever.

[Cold Heat]

It seems that PC thinking has destroyed everything of importance.

Everything!

[Lucas1]

Now tell us CNN what you REALLY know about Bill Clinton...rape in Arkansas???? More???

[nutmeg]

Do NOT miss this disturbing article.

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[Howlin]

Are you being deliberatly obtuse?

[TrexDogs]

First, this puts the war slut's self-righteous whining about the hotel reporters in quite the light. That was bad enough before this story broke but now it's just unfreakingbelievable, even for her. Geeeeezzzz. But that said....

Excuse me for offering a dissenting view, but just what would you have done that would have saved the employees from being tortured or killed?

I agree with you. Easy to monday-morning quarterback when real lives aren't on the line. I sure wouldn't have broadcast this story earlier, though of course every decent human being would have informed the US govt. But I'd imagine they did just that.

there may be a moral obligation, and it appears he did what he could by warning King Hussein.

If they didn't get word to the CIA then I'll eat my hat! But what are they supposed to do now ... publicly confirm it for the sake of "news"? It's a no-win situation; imagine broadcasting 'yeah, we went to CIA straight away', and then expecting the safety of employees (most of whom are locals) still operating in other dictatorships?

For now, I just hope this report resonates with the left when watching news from other arab dictatorships. Ah hell, that's probably too much to ask, but I'm still glad he's telling his story now. Let's put the bulk of the blame where it belongs here -- on Saddam and his gang of murderers.

[nutmeg]

Do NOT miss this disturbing article.

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[Lucas1]

Quote "Does the NY Times understand what they have just printed?"

No I really don't think they realize...they really don't

[diamond6]

If that's true, and Jordan knew it, then he should have told the U.S. government. But do we know that for sure?

[Cold Heat]

Just does not see the gravity of this as we do.

[Lucas1]

People should email FOX NEWS with this...

We demand to know if FOX NEWS operates this way as well...

When they say they do not...then they can report this as a real story.

[DaughterOfAnIwoJimaVet]

As despicable as it is to spike stories and completely sacrifice their journalistic integrity, to a degree I can understand their concern for associates in Iraq that would surely have been killed had the stories come out. (Not saying I think it was the right thing to do or the right way to handle it - they essentially made themselves a propaganda organ for an oppressive regime.)

I think the part that convicts them most is that they absolutely refused to cut President Bush even the SLIGHTEST amount of slack leading up to this war and during it.

WHY? If they had their own experience with a regime that was brutal, WHY DID THEY SIDE AGAINST PRESIDENT BUSH?

(And I've watched - I am stuck watching CNN when I work out at my club, and I cannot BELIEVE how biased they have been regarding this war.)

As someone said earlier, they have Iraqi blood on their hands.

I think they're covered with it.

[Cold Heat]

They probably see it as a good hit piece on the network media.

Print being all true all the time yah know.